


You Can See It With The Lights Out

by lescinq



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Ficlet, M/M, Tinnitus, hearing loss AU, uan tour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 19:56:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2745104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lescinq/pseuds/lescinq
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So after I read this article (http://popcrush.com/fans-one-direction-louis-tomlinson-tinnitus) I maybe wrote a short fic about louis losing his hearing oops? [written oct 2012]</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Can See It With The Lights Out

Louis’ ears are ringing. 

His eyes slitted against the morning sun, the first sound to reach him in waking is the tinny buzz of poor reception. Head still pounding with the bass of last night’s impromptu hotel corridor chicken-race and one drink too many and the clumsy crash of skin on skin, the constant hum is like the echo of craic well had, as Niall would say.

Louis reaches blindly for his phone, eyes closed and-

Hands bat his face. “Jesus, Lou. I’ve been yelling for you.”

He takes in Harry’s form, dripping at the hair as he draws a fresh washcloth from the laundry pile left unfolded on the floor by his bed. “Needed a flannel.” He waves the thing in Louis’ eyes and the older boy swats at Harry’s chest, grinning at his own lame retaliation.

Harry darts back off to the shower, pulling the bathroom door shut behind him, and though the loud hiss of water spray never reaches him, Louis reasons that he too should greet the day.

*

Paracetamol and toast for breakfast are magic on Louis’ churning stomach, and he takes full advantage of the lazy Sunday, flipping through TV channels while Harry drapes himself across the sofa, swiping idly through pages on the iPad in his lap. He’s usually game to watch a few Jeremy Kyle reruns or Million Pound Drop, but nothing holds his attention for long; it all sounds like a dull buzz, really. Harry has to ask three times if he’s feeling alright before Louis actually turns his head to respond, smacking a cheeky kiss on Harry’s wrinkled forehead and reminding him that he’s always been a bit moony and Harry should be used to it by now.

*

What should be thirty minutes recording a verse in the studio gets dragged out for hours when Louis keeps missing his cue in the track and singing off the beat. The sound tech gets short after the twelfth misstep, says he’s sounding shit today and sends him off. No one’s impressed with the weeknight pub crawl they assume Louis was on last night. He doesn’t hear the smart little remarks the boys mutter about him in the van home, only the laughter after. His confusion only makes them laugh harder, then belatedly assure him it’s only banter when he starts going red.

*

They do a show that Friday, for a massive crowd, all screaming at top volume. They’ve all stopped hearing the names they’re shouting long ago, they just smile and wave back at the end of the show. It’s normal for their ears to ring and for everything to sound a bit muddy for a while after, but its hours later and Louis still feels like he’s in a cave. Niall and Zayn call up friends and chat up girls in the hotel bar, and Liam secrets away to phone his girlfriend, but after an hour of exhausting conversation – straining to hear what Nick and Harry are trying to convince him about trance music making a mainstream comeback – he begs Harry to turn in early, and they leave a disgruntled Nick to his drinks and chips for the night.

* 

Louis’ thoughts have gotten louder in the last week, as the world outside has gotten quieter. He locks on to images, ideas, and can’t be distracted; an issue that, if he’s honest, would’ve helped a great deal back in school.

“Can you even hear me?” Harry chuckles and Louis barely can. The words reach him through Harry’s hands on his face and the rumble of his voice in his chest, leaning on his side against his pillow. A smile melts across Louis face and he nods, lies. 

“I love you, you know. I should tell you more often,” Harry whispers, and though the words miss him completely, he can feel them in the glow of Harry’s face and the little tremor through his body. So Louis takes Harry’s hands in his own as he lets himself be told.


End file.
